The first few hours after an arrest can make the difference between a good outcome and a bad one. During that time, investigators and police are working to gather or elicit evidence that can be used against you later in the case. Having an attorney guiding you through that initial period is critical.
We take cases throughout the San Antonio area and surrounding counties, and we'll occasionally take cases outside that area depending on the type of case and whether we have the time to give it the attention it deserves. We never want to take on a case we can't handle fairly.
Pleading guilty without a lawyer means giving up any chance to challenge violations of your rights that could have led to a dismissal, and giving up the opportunity to have mitigating circumstances examined that could have reduced or dismissed the charge. The state has no obligation to point out weaknesses in its own case to someone without a lawyer — so an unrepresented defendant is essentially letting the state do whatever it wants with the case.
Fees depend on the type of offense and your criminal record. Barrera Defense charges a flat fee and discloses all costs upfront — there are no hidden fees added as the case goes on. We believe in being fully transparent about cost from day one.
Don't answer questions about where you're coming from or whether you've had anything to drink. Many people assume admitting to “just a couple of drinks” will get them let go — instead, it triggers a full DWI investigation. You have the right to refuse the field sobriety tests performed on the roadside. Whether to take a breath or blood test is a more local question: in smaller counties, where a judge may not always be available to sign a warrant, refusing the breath test can mean law enforcement isn't able to get a warrant for a blood draw. In San Antonio and Bexar County, a judge is always available to sign that warrant, and breath test cases also tend to be easier to defend than blood test cases — so in San Antonio, agreeing to the breath test often makes more sense.
Barrera Defense serves San Antonio and the surrounding counties, including Wilson, Karnes, Atascosa, Frio, and Kendall counties.
Stephen Barrera has practiced criminal defense for over 20 years and has secured successful jury verdicts for clients facing serious charges, including attempted capital murder, aggravated sexual assault of a child, and murder. James Heath has devoted his entire career to defending the accused, beginning at the public defender's office before being recruited to Barrera Defense based on his reputation as a trial attorney. Between the two of us, our clients get decades of trial experience and a proven record on the most serious cases Texas courts handle.
Yes. We have offices in both Floresville and San Antonio, and we're available for in-person meetings at either location by appointment.
In Texas, most hard drugs — cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, MDMA, and similar substances — are automatically felonies in any amount. Marijuana is treated differently: possession of up to four ounces of flower marijuana is typically a misdemeanor. The key difference between a misdemeanor and a felony is the range of punishment. Misdemeanors are punishable by time in county jail, though most misdemeanor cases result in some form of probation. Felonies are punishable by time in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, though depending on your record, you may still be eligible for probation.
Yes. During your free initial consultation, an attorney will listen to your account of what happened and begin forming a plan for your defense. We'll walk you through what to expect from the courts, the prosecution, and your own defense team, and answer any questions you have about how the case will unfold.
You can expect to speak with an attorney within a few hours of calling.
Yes. We start by examining the reason law enforcement made contact with our client in the first place — there may have been an unlawful stop or seizure. We also scrutinize the search itself, since searches are often flawed. Either one can be a violation of our client's constitutional rights that gets the case thrown out. We also look for mitigating circumstances that could support reducing the charge to a lower-level offense.
The juvenile system is built around rehabilitating the child, while the adult system is focused primarily on punishment. A juvenile taken into detention isn't eligible for bail — instead, they're entitled to a detention hearing within 48 hours of being taken into custody, where a judge decides whether it's safe to release them home. Many of the procedures also come from the Family Code rather than the Code of Criminal Procedure, so parts of the process are more civil in nature. In most cases, a juvenile is eligible to have their record sealed once the case concludes — a benefit adult offenders only get in limited circumstances.
One of the most important things a family member or friend can do is contact a bail bond company approved to write bonds in that specific county as soon as possible, so the bondsman can begin working on the bond immediately.
Not necessarily — it depends on how serious the violation is. Minor violations might just mean a meeting with your probation officer to correct the issue, or additional requirements like AA meetings or outpatient treatment. If a violation is serious enough, the probation officer can recommend a motion to revoke or a motion to adjudicate. Once that's filed, it triggers a warrant, but you're still entitled to a hearing on whether the violation actually occurred — the state has to prove it — and a separate hearing on what the appropriate remedy should be.
If bail is set unreasonably high, we can immediately schedule a bail reduction hearing to get the amount down to something the client and their family can actually afford, so they can secure release.
It depends on the type of case and the court it's in. Felonies generally take longer than misdemeanors because there's typically more evidence to examine and more complex issues involved — cases requiring lab testing, like DNA or controlled substance analysis, tend to take longer still. We always take a client's timeline into account, but we never rush a case at the expense of the outcome. Our goal is always the best possible result, not the fastest one.
Barrera Defense focuses solely on criminal defense. We don't take on family law, civil, or other matters — criminal defense is the only thing we do.
Not necessarily. You'll receive notice that your license will be suspended 40 days after your arrest, but you're entitled to contest that suspension at what's called an ALR (Administrative License Revocation) hearing. If your attorney prevails at that hearing, there's no suspension. Most clients are also eligible for an occupational driver's license, which allows you to keep driving — to work, to pick up your kids, to run errands — during any suspension period. Making sure our clients can keep their lives moving is one of our top priorities on every DWI case.
Be careful about speaking to law enforcement — if something you say is phrased poorly or misunderstood, it can undermine a defense you might otherwise have had. Don't speak to police without an attorney. Just as important, start gathering evidence right away. If you believe you acted in self-defense, photograph any injuries and any evidence of the incident you were defending against. If other people were nearby, note who they were — they may be key witnesses who can help your attorney get the case dismissed later.
It depends on the case. Higher-level felonies are more likely to go to trial, given how much incarceration the state often seeks. That said, most cases are resolved through dismissal or a plea agreement. Even so, we prepare every case as if it's going to trial — the threat of trial is what keeps the prosecution honest during negotiations. If the state knows your lawyer is only preparing to take a plea, they have no reason to be reasonable. Like any negotiation, the state needs to know your attorney is willing to walk away from the table and set the case for trial if they aren't offering something fair.
We represent clients on both misdemeanor and felony charges, so we appear in the county courts and district courts throughout all of the areas we serve.
Magistration is the process where you're brought before a judge, informed of your rights, and have bail set. In Bexar County, the process is more complicated: if you're arrested in San Antonio, you're first magistrated by a San Antonio magistrate, then transferred to the Bexar County jail, where you're magistrated a second time by a Bexar County magistrate. Because that process is duplicative and time-consuming, someone arrested in San Antonio is likely to spend more time going through magistration than they would in one of the surrounding counties.
Only two attorneys handle cases at Barrera Defense — Stephen Barrera and James Heath. Both are personally committed to their clients and have a track record of strong outcomes.
Barrera Defense doesn't accept court-appointed cases, which allows us to focus solely on clients who have retained us directly. We intentionally limit the number of cases we take so that every client gets a thorough defense — every avenue explored, every piece of evidence examined — and enough of our time to understand the process and be heard throughout the case.